Common Weather Radio Features

Now that you know what all the acronyms mean, how do you go about buying one of these modern marvels?  You’ll want to keep a number of features in mind when shopping for a weather radio:

Available Frequencies

Though you won’t find too many of them any more, some older radios are only capable of receiving NWR’s original three frequencies.  Should you happen to a) know your closest NWR station’s frequency, b) be sure that that frequency is one of the original three, and c) plan on keeping the radio in one place (no traveling), a three-frequency radio might work for you. 

However, we strongly advise purchasing a seven-frequency radio; they’re much more likely to provide you good reception now and in the future.

SAME/Public Alert Decoding

If you intend to use your weather radio as an alert device — a device that issues an audio or visual alarm when emergency events occur — you’ll definitely want a newer radio capable of decoding SAME broadcasts.  Whereas older “alert” radios often go off in the middle of the night and wake you up only for you to discover that the event is yet another “watch” for a county you don’t live in, a SAME capable radio will only alert you to the events you specify in the area in which you live.

Radios featuring the “Public Alert Device” emblem utilize SAME, but also meet a more stringent set of standards ensuring that the unit provides quality reception capability and is updated with the full set of alert messages and types.

Multiple SAME Location Storage

Some receivers only allow you to enter one six-digit NOAA location code, thus limiting you to receiving warnings for only one county.  If you live in the middle of a large county, this isn’t really a big issue.  If, however, you live on the border of two or more counties (as we do), this can pose a problem.  Other receivers allow the entry of two or more location codes, allowing you to define a larger area for which you wish to receive alerts.

A Built-In SAME Location Database

NOAA publishes a listing of SAME location codes on their website, and some SAME-capable radios require you to look up your location online and then enter the code found there.  Others have a built-in database and allow you to simply select your state and county/area from a list, entering the six-digit code for you automatically. (Note that even units with built-in location databases still allow you to edit the SAME location codes directly.  You may want to check your location online with NOAA anyway, as sometimes NOAA offers more local area divisions — smaller than just county level.  If this applies to you, you can override the database’s selection and enter your own code.)

Alert Method/Alert Selection

Though some SAME alerts are required by law and therefore can’t be “disabled” on a SAME-capable receiver, many receivers offer the option of selecting a specific alert method for each SAME event code.  So, for example, if you live on very high ground, you could set the receiver to provide a visual-only warning for a flash flood watch or a flood statement while leaving a warning tone and voice alert for severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings.

Display Options

Most SAME-capable radios offer some type of visual display to indicate the type of alert that’s active.  Some offer a simple set of LEDs to indicate “warning,” “watch,” or “statement” levels of alert, while others take it up a notch by offering alphanumeric LCDs capable of displaying the event type (such as “tornado,” “severe thunderstorm,” or so on).  Some SAME-capable radios have built-in clocks which they use along with SAME broadcast alert expiration times to maintain display of an activated alert for the entire alert period.

Portability

Weather radios come in a variety of form factors ranging from hardcover-book-sized AC-powered desktop units to tiny hand-held portable units.  If you’re planning on using the radio primarily to alert you to nighttime events at home, AC-powered radios require much less attention and can be essentially configured and forgotten (except for changing backup batteries every so often).

Battery Backup (on AC-powered Radios)

Speaking of backup batteries, this is a feature you’ll definitely want on AC-powered radios as power outages are common during severe weather.  What’s the point in buying an alert device if it’s going to crap out every time the power dies?

Read on to page 3 to see our recommendations

Pages: 1 2 3

This entry was posted on Friday, June 30th, 2006 at 3:57 pm and is filed under Features, Safety. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.